frayed at the edge

Day 21 ...... and it had been a very busy day!

This morning we went for a walk through the old cemetery in Hawick, as we had noticed when we drove past yesterday that the trees were in their full autumn glory

 

 

The wording has worn off this headstone, but the carving looks as if it has just been done

 

this brother and sister moved away from their roots - the grave contains their parents

 

I rarely take photos of recent graves ...... perhaps if it's the grave of someone who lived to be over a hundred.  But when we saw this one, in the furthest corner of the cemetery, I found it so moving, that I wanted to share it with you (click on the photo to enlarge it). It's the word at the very bottom ....... reunited ..... it is a lovely thought that they are back together! 

 

it is intriguing that she is described as a detective and a poet.  The poppy wreath is from his regiment, the Grenadier Guards.  And we get to see what they were like, in this wonderful photo ..... she is tiny!

 

as we left the cemetery, it seemed fitting, in an Edgar Allan Poe kind of way, that a big black crow was watching us from his perch at the top of the tree

 

we walked along what was the route of the long-since defunct railway (although it might be restored sometime soon).  The trees were showing their glorious autumn colours

 

when we turned off the path, we had to go down some steep steps through a small tunnel

 

it looked quite different looking back from the other end

 

of course a Sunday walk means a cuppa and a scone - well, today we had two scones!  The scones were just out of the oven (we had to wait a few minutes for them) and as always we had half each.  I don't suppose it is healthy to have scones for lunch ........

first course, a cheese scone

 

followed by dessert, a cherry scone!

 

after "lunch", we walked over the footbridge across the River Teviot, pausing to admire the views

 

normally at  this point we would have gone home, but instead we headed to one of the local garden centres, which had a "20% of everything" weekend.  The garden centre is on the bank of the River Teviot, and has a very picturesque riverside walk

something found these mushrooms, growing on a tree stump, very tasty!

 

a glimpse of the river through a willow tree

 

a wonderful red bridge and a metal heron, surrounded by water lilies

 

a stunning acer

 

another view over the river

 

on the way home, I tried to take some photos of the scenery - but cars kept intruding!

 

in the distance, the Waterloo Monument stood out against the blue sky

 

back home, I finally remembered to take a photo of my ripple rug, which I have been diligently adding a few rows to every night

 

then it was into the studio for more sewing.  I had another session of fmq on the baby quilt, which is now more than a third done

 

then I got out these two fabrics, which I bought on Friday at Borderland Fabrics.  As well as making the baby quilt for Amie, I thought I would make a little quilt for the her big brother, Lucas. 

 

the pattern is one that I  ...... well, I was going to say designed, but that's too grand a word for such a simple pattern!  There are three variations - this is the one that uses two half metres of fabric.  From the main fabric, cut eight four and a half inch strips, and from the other fabric cut sixteen two and a half inch strips

 

next, sew a narrow strip to either side of a wide strip

 

from each strip, cut two eight and a hlaf inch squares, and arrange them thus

 

that's as far as I got this afternoon, but of course the next stage is to stitch the blocks together.  The finished quilt is thirty two inches square, but you could make it bigger by adding an outer border.  But that size is just right to put over a child in a car seat or buggy, and backed with fleece makes a lovely "cuddle quilt".

 

I still have lots of photos left from our morning out - here is a random selection

 

 

 

 

Day 20 ....... and a finished project!

I planned to work on the baby quilt this afternoon, but as it is quite a few weeks since I last did any free motion quilting (fmq), I thought I ought to have a bit of practice first (it's amazing how quickly you get out of the rhythm of fmq!)  So I made up a sandwich with calico and cotton wadding, chose a contrasting thread (so that I could see what I was doinng) and got out my finger-gripper thingies

 

a short time later, I had produced this

 

well - good bits, and not so good bits!  When I was watching the Ricky Timms show the other day, a guest on the show was demonstrating how to do a free motion ribbon.  I think I need to work on mine!

 

I also recently watched someone doing free motion feathers ...... and again mine definitely needs more work - this doesn't remotely resemble a feather!

 

however I was happy with these flowers, although I prefer them without the cirle in the centre

 

the next task was to make up a little sample with the fabics from the baby quilt, backed with a piece of the fleece that the quilt is backed with

 

I had a good first session

 

and now for the finished project!  I finally stitched the handles on to the block holder

 

I needed something rigid to hold clip the blocks to, and to give shape to the block holder ...... so when Malcolm bought this packet of two plastic chopping boards during the week (intending them for the kitchen) I immediately snaffled them!

 

I had recently bought these super little clips in Borderland Fabrics - they are ideal for holding the blocks in place

 

I had a hunt through my button stash to find suitable buttons

 

what did I use to hold the buttons together?  An elastic hair band!

 

here is the finished block keeper, hanging on my mannequin .......

 

........ which seems to have become the recipient of several projects (and a silly t-shirt!)

Day 19 ....... and I stroke an owl!!

After lunch at patch'n'chat, when we went back through to the workroom I checked my phone, and found that I had a missed call from Malcolm.  When I phoned home, he told me to go across the road to the Woollen Mill, as there was a display of owls and hawks in front of the mill (he had driven past earlier).  I grabbed my camera, and some money, as I knew that I would be expected to put some in the donations bucket in return for taking the photos.  I started taking photos from a reasonable distance, but the two men with the birds said to get as close to them as I wanted - I would be quite safe!  So just look at these beauties ......

a red tailed hawk

 

I was a bit nervous about getting close to that beak!

 

a Mackinders eagle owl - he is 14 years old!

 

a gyr

 

I was fascinated by the tiny stitches on the hood .......

 

....... and the beautiful markings on the feathers

 

when I went over to take photos of this Eurasion eagle owl, one of the men said to me that the owl, named Ollie, didn't like men.  He told me to stroke his chest (the owl's, not the man's!) ..... well, I didn't need to be told twice to do that.  It was amazingly soft and fluffy, and the owl was obviously quite happy to be stroked.  Then the man said, ok, watch this.  He stepped up to the owl, which immediately rose up and hissed at him!!

 

 

 

I have saved the best till last ....... get ready to say aaaaaah!  This is a four-month old Asian brown wood owl

 

 

 

all that remains is for me to hope that you all have a good weekend, and to share with you the Friday cake - a delicious fruit loaf.  Love Anne

Day 18 ....... and (oops) I start another project!

This morning was damp and misty .......

 

..... if you were looking towards Hawick Town Hall, but if you looked in the other direction, the sun was shining!

 

Thursday, of course, means a scone to share in The Pickled Orange.  Today's was cheddar, chives, chilli ..... and something else which we have forgotten.  It was just out of the oven - delicious!

 

when we got home, there was still some mist round the Mintos

 

this was my bargain of the week - 99p for an insulated bag.  I'll use it to take my lunch on Fridays to patch'n'chat

 

so, on to the new project!  This is based on an item in one of the Ricky Timms shows that I watched yesterday.  The design is by two sisters, Barbara and Mary.  Their company is called 4th and 6th Designs ....... because they were the 4th and 6th children in the family!  They didn't fully explain the pattern (obviously they want you to buy the book), so this is my interpretation of it.  I decided to use the lovely Australian fabrics that Lee gave my for my birthday

 

I started by cutting strips in widths from an inch and a quarter to two inches, increasing the width each time by a quarter of an inch

 

I then sewed all the strips together (those of you who don't do patchwork, will be saying the same as patchworkers' husbands everywhere ..... why do you cut the fabric up, then sew it back together!?)

 

the next stage was to take a six and a half inch square ruler, and if you look where I am pointing, put the diagonal line on a seam.  I used my small rotary cutter, to make it easier to cut round the ruler

 

the first square cut

 

four cut, and put on the design wall

 

eight blocks cut, and stitched together

 

so what is it?  Well, when we moved here (six years ago), I put a little ruuner on the wine cupboard in the hall as a "temporary" measure, so this is going to replace it

 

I will add triangles to the ends, to hang down over the sides of the cupboard.  I will also make matching ones for the little chest of drawers and lamp/plant stand, that you saw in the recent post about flowers.  When I cut out the squares, I thought at first that it was a bit of a wasteful method

 

but I realised that a lot of the offcuts can be pieced together and used in another project

 

out in the garden, this rose is still flowering

 

it's a miniature rose - this is my pinkie!

 

three of the clematis are also still flowering, although they are a bit bedraggled

 

to finish ....... I don't mind getting begging letters from charities, but I prefer to choose how much to give.  This latest missive from Oxfam (I already give them money every month) went straight in the recycle bin, as there was no option for an amount that I chose to give.  I didn't entirely grasp the "doubled" bit, it was something about them having money set aside to match the donations to this appeal .....

Day 17 ..... and a change of plan

I should have been going to Longframligton today, to visit Anne in her wonderful shop, but I had an email yesterday from her husband, Mick, to say that Anne was poorly.  I won't tell you in the graphic terms that Mick used what is wrong with her .... I shall simply say that she can't stray far from the bathroom!  But I didn't mind too much when I saw the awful weather this morning and I was even more glad that I had stayed at home when Malcolm came back from Coldstream (the same route that I would have travelled) and said that the roads were dreadful, with a lot of flooding.  This is the rain bouncing off the ice in the birdbath

 

Such a miserable can only mean one choice for breakfast, a warming bowl of porridge with a spoonful of homemade jam

 

we had scary company at the breakfast table ......

 

a white chocolate ghost which briefly was part of my autumn decoration on the kitchen table (he has now been eaten by Malcolm - regular readers know that I don't like white chocolate!)

 

it was hard to decide what to do with my unexpected day at home, but first I caught up with watching several Ricky Timms programmes, which had been lurking in my inbox.  Then I spent quite a lot of time sorting out photos to have made into cards, for sale in The Reivers Moon Gallery (they have sold some of my photos - hooray).

Next, I tackled the pile of magazines next to my chair, which is threatening to topple over.  But all that happened is that most of them went into a new pile, with dog-eared pages, marking things I want to look at online!

But I kept being distracted by the sparrows in the front garden, who were either sheltering from the heavy rain in the hawthorn tree

 

..... or thinking about havinng a bath (brrrr)

 

...... or tucking into the birdfood which I put out yesterday

 

 

 

but for every photo of the birds that turns out well, there are quite a few like this one!

Day 16 ....... and some mother's ruin

When I was labelling the piles of pieces for the baby quilt, my eye was drawn to the logo in the corner of the notepaper

 

I used to be a member of the Quilters' Guild - for a while I was even an Area Rep.  The badges then were, for me, stylish and elegant

 

but those in charge decided to modernise the look ....... and this much derided logo was the result

 

back then, I went through a spell of collecting badges, most of which I have pinned on my sewing bag.  You will no doubt recognise the material the bag is made from - it is from Provence.  Malcolm had been working on a major project in Provence, leaving home at lunchtime on Sundays, and getting home late on Friday nights.  So after this had gone on for several weeks, I went out to Aix-en-Provence to sppend a week with him ...... and while I was there, I not only bought lots of Provencal fabric, I also bought this bag

 

I was given the little badge at the top left by the owner of quilting shop in San Antonio, Texas.  Malcolm was due to go to Houston on (yet another) business trip, and as it was just before Easter, he arranged to have a few days holiday.  While he was working, I had a few days pottering round some excellent little local shops, and one day I had a marathon session, in a cocoon of pillows, eating chips and dips, watching back to back episodes of CSI!!  When Malcolm had finished his business, we travelled to San Antonio, and consulting the phone book, I found the address for this shop ...... although it was somewhat harder to find the shop, as the road to it ran through an enormous military base - which post 9/11 had been closed, so we had to make a huge detour

 

these two badges were from my trip to a quilt symposium in New Zealand in 2001 (that was the famous occasion when I said to Malcolm can I go, and he replied "you can go if you want to"!!)  The badge on the left is a Scottish Region Quilters' Guild badge.  I gave one to a man called Craig Brown (good Scottish nmae - at that time the manager of the Scottish national football team was also called Craig Brown), who was mayor of the town of Whangerei ...... he could trace his ancestors back to the "Nova Scotians" - Scots who had emigrated to Canada, didn't like it, and had travelled on to, and settled in, New Zealand.  He said he would wear the badge with pride at council meetings - I wonder if he did?

 

more Quilters' Guild badges, and my Stirling Castle Quilters badge - I was one of the founder members of the group, and was their second chairman ....... and then some years later when we came back from Indonesia, I rejoined the group, and ended up being chairman for a second time!

 

and yet another crop of badges, pinned to my various identity badges for the Houston quilt show, and the (now defunct) European Expo

 

and now for the mother's ruin (or do I have the apostrophe in the wrong place, is it mothers'?)  I found several recipes for redcurrant gin online, all of which said to put the redcurrants and sugar in a bowl and mash them together, then transfer them to a jar.  But I thought why dirty a bowl, and just weighed out the redcurrants in the jars

 

the great thing about my digital scales is that I can push a button to return the setting to zero, then weigh the next ingredient, in this case the sugar

 

I tried mashing them with a fork, but it was hard going - so I simply added some of the gin and used my stick blender

 

there were so many redcurrants, I also prepped some vodka!  Now it just has to mature for two or three months!!

Day 15 ...... and a disappointment

Yesterday, I thought it was time to finish  a quilt I made some time ago, so I made some binding ......

 

....... for the "row" quilt

 

despite the fact that the quilt has been on the guest bed for months, I hadn't noticed that I had missed these ends!

 

when I started stitching the binding on, the sun was shining, and I was going to take a photo of thhe quilt over the chair on the deck ........ but the time I finished it had turned rather wet

 

so instead I had to take a photo of it in front of the stove.  I still have to stitch the binding by hand on the back, I just pinned a bit in place for the photo, then when I saw it on the laptop, I realised that you can't really see it against the dark backing fabric!

 

then it was on with the baby quilt.  After some stitching, I had three piles of blocks

 

row one on the design wall

 

row two added

 

then three

 

well ........ you get the idea!  Here is the finished top.  The colours aren't true, as I had to have the light on, it had got so dark because of the rain ..... I'll need to take a photo outside

 

then on to today and the disappointment.  We went for a walk after lunch, struggling through nasty bits like this

 

but we didn't mind, as we were going to ........ well, this is where it all went wrong.  Last year the blackthorns lining the path were laden with sloes ....... and this year there were none, not one, not a single sloe!  We were so disappointed, as we were looking forward to making more sloe gin (and Stuart and Alison had already put in an order for another bottle).  However, there was a little bit consolation ....... lots of redcurrants, some elderberries, and some rosehips

 

but who could stay disappointed for long, when you can gaze out over this view on the way home!!

Day 14 ...... and lots of my favourite colours

This morning we went for our usual Sunday morning walk, this time in Wilton Lodge Park, in Hawick.  I love autumn colours, so this morning's walk was a delight!!

 

 

 

 

but it wasn't just about the autumn colours - there was this amazing fungus .......

 

....... I have small feet (size three and a half UK, thirty seven European), so this gives you an idea of the size of the fungus!

 

there was also this little hut, which is slowly being reclaimed by nature, now that it is no longer used

 

and ....... my favourite bird, the heron!

 

this might not have autumn colours, but I love old, moss-covered walls

 

and I loved this little hole in the wall, surrounded by moss

 

I cropped this photo to only show the cow and calf .......

 

...... but thiswas the next photo that I took  showing the fence, the overhead wires and the other cows

 

do you remember when we walked along the road above the park earlier in the year, and I was captivated by the building-demolishing machines?  This is the same site - but in just a few months, nature has reclaimed it

 

the road above the park gives good views across the valley - the curving path up to the two white houses also featured in that earlier post

 

..... to finish, some more glorious autumn colours ........ and I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update

 

 

ps - I did think of asking Malcolm to take a photo of me swinging in the tyre ....... but I was worried that I would get stuck in it!!

Day 13 ........ and fun with fabric

We went out for breakfast with Stuart and Alison this morning, then after they left, I headed out to the studio for an afternoon of sewing.  First, I unearthed this little quilt top for Linus, which I made ages ago.  I picked a fabric to add borders .........

 

........ I think it makes a nice frame

 

next, I used a reel of thread to draw circles on some bondaweb .......

 

....... which I used to attach little noses made of fleece

 

then I used a smaller reel to draw more circles .......

 

....... to make eyes

 

I've just marked the whites in with pencil, but I'll embroider them before I layer the top and quilt it

 

just before we went on holiday, Stuart and Alison were thrilled at the birth of a niece, Amie Louise ....... a second child for Alison's brother and his wife, and a sister for Lucas.  Of course that means a quilt!!  I chose these lovely Moda fabrics from my stash, to make a "6-fat quarter" quilt

 

the first strips cut ........

 

...... the various bits stitched together, and lots of sub-cutting later

 

the eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted that a seventh fabric has appeared (bottom right)  ..... I have to admit that I made a slight faux pas when I cut the first strips, but fortunately the bundle of fabrics that I used had eight fat quarters in it, so I was able to cut the extra pieces needed

 

Malcolm appeared during the afternoon with a large box from Amazon ........ despite the fact that he was working in the front garden, somehow the delivery driver had managed to leave the parcel on the doorstep without his seeing him/her!  The main part of the order was for Malcolm, but tucked in the bottom of the box was a book that I had ordered.  I saw this book in a bookshop in Sydney ....... but looking at the book I saw that it was a British publication, so I ordered it when we got home......

 

there are lots of wonderful recipes - I don't which one to start with!

 

ps - this post has taken rather a long time to do, as we are watching "Strictly Come Dancing" (in other countries it's called "Dancing with The Stars"), so I have to stop every time they dance, then type furiously during the judges comments! 

Day 12 ..... and a fleeting visit!

Just a very quick post, as Stuart and Alison are visiting, and we have just had (yet another) birthday dinner, as their birthdays are both in September, so we had all four birthdays to celebrate.  Sorry, but too busy having a lovely dinner to have taken photos, but as always I have a photo of the Friday cake at patch'n'chat ..... this week it was Annette's light-as-air chocolate cake

 

back tomorrow with some sewing!!